Having watched Virat Kohli's on-field exploits with awe all these years, it was a surreal feeling for Mukesh Kumar when the former Indian captain rushed to hug him after the Bengal seamer got his maiden Test wicket.
Making his Test debut a few months before his 30th birthday, the man from Bihar's Gopalganj is a late bloomer and has had to come up the ranks proving his mettle right from Bengal U-23 to India A in last seven years.
"When I got the wicket, Virat bhaiya ran up and hugged me. I was in a different world. The man I have watched all these years on TV and looked up to is hugging you. It felt great," a beaming Mukesh told his senior pace bowling partner [younger in age though] Mohammed Siraj in an interaction for BCCI.TV.
Mukesh had an impressive debut on a flat lifeless deck with figures of 18-6-48-2 to show for his efforts.
"When you [Siraj] and JD [Unadkat] bhai were bowling, Rohit bhai said 'it's not a pitch where you can get wickets instantly. You need to work hard'. I had to set up the batter with consistent bowling," said Mukesh, who was picked by former Bengal seamer Ranadeb Bose, during an open trial back in 2013-14 season under the ambitious 'Vision2020' project.
Although he was mentally ready, having gone through the paces in the nets, the moment he was told at the team meeting a day before, it took some time to sink in.
"When I came to know that I will be playing, I was shocked and actually completely zoned out. Whether I play or not, I am always prepared, so I went to attend the team meeting, keeping in mind that I need to follow my process. But there was some gut feel that I might play."
His mother was emotional and all those associated in this journey were very happy.
“So when it’s morning over here, it’s evening in India. So by evening, when I reached hotel, I spoke to my mom, that’s a special feeling that ‘Maa main desh ke liye khel raha hoon [Mom, I am playing for the country]. All my relatives and all those who supported me from start are happy,” he told Siraj.
